


Help Me to Understand

by superkarasdanvers



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fix-It, Lena Luthor Finds Out Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Post-Canon Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 13:47:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18740290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superkarasdanvers/pseuds/superkarasdanvers
Summary: a rewrite of the most recent episodeorthe one where lena walks in while kara is taking in the photos hanging on red daughters walls





	Help Me to Understand

**Author's Note:**

> it's short but definitely how i would have preferred the episode to go
> 
> *some lines are from the show due to trying to keep it as canon as possible with a twist. As for those lines I do not own them and give full credit to the CW and their team of writers*

“I’ll go right.”

“I’ll go left.”

Being in a building that was about to self-destruct wasn’t exactly surprising to Kara. She had figured she would encounter some obstacles when Lena suggested they head to Kasnia to investigate Lex. But, dealing with said obstacles proved to be much more difficult when she couldn’t just use her powers and fly herself and Lena to safety.  
So, she had to rely on her wit to get her out of the situation.

When she chose to go right, purely on natural instinct, she ran passed a room that caught her eye. She was dead set on running for the nearest exit, to find a way for her and Lena to escape to safety without putting her secret in jeopardy. But, the small concrete room with a wall full of pictures caught her eye.

As she entered and the pictures became more clear she realized that she recognized them. Or, she recognized the moments. Every picture was a snapshot of her life. Both of her lives.

There were pictures of her with Lena, with Alex and even some on her own. The pictures were clearly taken from a distance and without any of their knowledge. She recognized moment as old as a few months and as recent as a couple days prior. She couldn’t believe how such a thing was possible since she liked to thinks she is pretty in tune with her senses. Yet here they are.

The pictures that caught her attention the most were two singular photos of herself. One in her Supergirl outfit and one at CatCo. The two photos were posted on the wall side by side. She was practically doing the same pose and the similarities were obvious. Clearly Red Daughter had been studying Kara’s life, but for what?

Kara was too busy lost in her thoughts of what this all could mean to notice anything else going on around her. The alarm faded into background noise and the sound of her own thoughts became louder.

Could Red Daughter be planning to take Kara’s place? Could she be looking for a way to work with the DEO from the inside? Was Lex really trying to kill her? Could it actually work? Would anyone even notice the difference?

All of these questions ran through her brain as she reached out and ran a finger down the photo of herself in her famous superhero pose. If Red Daughter really has been watching her then she probably knows every part of her. She probably knows every tick and every habit. She could probably replicate Kara to the movement. She could replace her.

“Kara!” Lena’s voice came shattering through Kara’s thoughts like a freight train, but she didn’t react fast enough. By the time she whipped around Lena was standing in the doorway, chest heaving slightly from her run and eyes as wide as saucers.

Kara’s world seemed to pause in that moment. She noticed every little thing. Lena’s expression slowly changed from confusion to shock and finally to hurt. She moved her mouth to speak but no words came out. Her body seemed to slump and a single tear threatened to escape from her eye.

“Lena.” Kara whispered, barely even able to get a word out.

In place of an answer, Lena just stepped forward.

She made her way passed Kara and closer to the photos. She examined the wall slowly and carefully. She seemed to pause on each one, taking it in for a moment before moving on. It was almost as if Kara could physically see all of the dots connecting in her brain.

“Lena, I can explain.” Kara tried again, reaching a hand out for her and landing on her shoulder.

Lena took a breath, wiped her eye and shook her head. Kara could see the walls coming up and the armor returning as she made eye contact with Kara. “We have to go. 5 minutes.” she shrugged Kara’s hand from her shoulder and turned away.

Before Kara could answer, she was out the door and on the hunt for another escape route. Kara turned to the photos and sighed, using her heat vision to burn up any evidence and followed her friend out the door.

She caught up with her easily enough, falling in step behind her as they searched for an exit. “Lena, I could just-” she tried, wanting desperately to just get Lena to safety.

“There’s an exit up ahead.” Lena cut her off before she could even suggest what she had planned.

The pair escaped and made it to the plane just before the building cumbled in a giant explosion. Lena collapsed into the seat and let out an exhausted breath, closing her eyes and commanding for the plane to take off.

Kara took up the seat across from her, suddenly feeling very small and afraid. She wanted to talk about everything and nothing at the same time. She wanted to know what Lena was feeling, but was scared to hear the answer.

Minutes had passed as the plane evened out and the steady sound of the engine filled the silence. Lena took another breath and rose from her seat, not making eye contact and heading straight for the bar. She grabbed a cup, put two ice cubes inside and poured a bit of her favorite scotch over the top. She took a long swig, finishing the glass in one gulp before refilling it and turning to face Kara.

She leaned back against the bar and focused her gaze on the cabinets just above the seats. Kara didn’t dare speak and Lena took the opportunity to begin what was going to be a long conversation.

“I don’t let my guard down. Ever.” she began as she set the drink on the counter and crossed her arms, “And I did with Eve, and she betrayed me. I let her in and she lied to me, everyday, to my face about who she was.” Kara could feel her chest tightening with each word, but Lena continued. “And that’s what hurts.” she finished the statement with a shrug. When she blinked and finally made eye contact, Kara could see the tears brimming.

Kara understood what Lena was trying to say, she was hurt that Kara lied to her day in and day out. “I’m sorry.” Kara managed to squeak out as she slowly rose from her seat. “Lena, I never lied about who I was, not really.” she approached her friend slowly, unsure just how far she would be able to get before Lena shut her out again. Surprisingly, Lena just stared. “I have always been Kara Danvers. I have always been your best friend. Supergirl is just a part of me, she does not define who I am.” she continued, taking another step. She didn’t want Lena to put her in a box with all the other people who betrayed her. She never had any intention of using Lena or crossing her in any way. Her secret had nothing to do with her and everything to do with herself. “I have always been me when I’m around you. Any decisions I made as Supergirl, I would have made as Kara Danvers. I have never lied to you about anything else.” she explained.

Lena let out a scoff and a small eye roll at the comment. “Only about your entire identity.”

Kara could feel the pain in her chest at the jab, but she knew what Lena was doing. She was pushing. Kara wasn’t sure if she wanted her to push back or back down, but Lena’s friendship mean too much to her. The decision to push was almost too easy. “Only about my name.” Kara tried, reaching to remove her glasses from her face. She set them on a nearby table and took a final step to stand before her best friend. She wanted Lena to take a look at the real Kara Danvers, the real Kara Zor-El. “Everything else was me.”

Lena only looked at Kara, keeping her arms crossed tight around her chest and not saying a word. Kara typically prided herself on being able to read Lena, but this time she didn’t have a clue what the younger woman was thinking. 

“So, if you don’t mind I would like to formally introduce myself.” Kara tried, holding her hand out in hopes of getting even a slight response, “I’m Kara Zor-El of planet Krypton. But, I prefer Kara Danvers of planet Earth.”

Lena eyed Kara’s outstretched hand and did nothing for what felt like the longest twenty second of Kara’s life. She caught Kara’s gaze once again before slowly taking her hand and giving it a gentle shake. It was much different than the handshakes Kara has gotten from Lena in the past. Rather than being filled with confidence and intimidation, it was apprehensive and timid.

“It’s going to take time.” Lena whispered, not trusting her voice to convey what she wanted to say. “I need some time to process all of this.” she tried to explain further, not dropping her hand from Kara’s. “I need you to explain. I need you to answer questions.” she paused, looking Kara in the eye and searching for something. She gave a weak smile as she seemed to find it, “I trust you, Kara. I want to understand.”

Kara couldn’t help the smile that grew on her face as she nodded, “Yeah?” she questioned, not quite believing what she was hearing. “I can explain everything, if you let me.”

With a final nod from Lena, Kara couldn’t help pulling her best friend in for a hug. Admittedly, she probably squeezed a bit too hard, but Lena didn’t seem to be complaining as she was holding on just as tight.

The realization that this revelation could have ended them, but didn’t, seemed to bring the two even closer. They could handle this.

Together.

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me if you want over on tumblr
> 
> www.superkarasdanvers.tumblr.com
> 
> i also have a ko-fi link over there if you wanna buy me a beer


End file.
